Cloth laying machine



Aprfifl 34H, M35, 5. M. BLOCH CLOTH LAYING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1933 5 Sheets$heet 1 I N VENTOR.

ATTORNEYS April! 3% 1%35.

S. M. BLOCH CLOTH LAYING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1955 s Sheets-Shee 2 A min m, 11.9%. a {9 BLOCH m ww CLOTH LAYING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTOR.

ATTORNEY);

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Patented Apr. 30, 1935 ilhil'ihfi STATES CLOTH LAYING MACHINE Samuel M. Bloch, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Fintex Qorporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Appiication April 15, 1933, Serial No. 666,318

21 Claims.

My invention relates to cloth laying machines and specifically is a further development of a machine of the type shown in my previous U. S. Patent No. 1,841,703, issued January 19, 1932. The object of the machine of my previous patent as well as the present improvement is to lay cloth in piles several layers deep for cuttingpurposes.

In order to handle cloth under all conditions and for all purposes which may be necessary in the garment and ailied industries, the present improved machine is designed to lay all kinds of fabrics from the heaviest cloak or overcoat material down through the various grades or" suitings, also materials of other character and texture, for example, linings, shirtings, wash goods, and so on; either woolens, cottons, silks, rayons or whatnot. The field of usefulness of my previous machine is extended both as to the range of goods which it can handle satisfactorily and as to the accuracy of laying.

In more detail, my present invention is an improvement on my earlier machine to make it particularly adaptable for power drive and for fully automatic operation, to increase the accuracy of laying by enabling either the operator or an assistant to make side adjustments, to maintain accurate edge alignment of the cloth while the machine is running, to adapt my machine for the laying of cloth from flat folded pieces or from book folded pieces, as well as from cylindrical rolls, and by generally improving many of the points of construction and operation 2" 1y previous machine. One of the particular advantages of my new form of machine is that it is capable of laying folded goods with all the advantages as to smoothness and evenness that have hitherto been obtainable only in the machine laying of unfolded goods. Other advantages of my new machine are improved means for controlling the tension and the feed with relation to the surface characteristics and the thickness of the goods, and an improved drive securing even traction on both sides so that the drive force never has a tendency to flex the machine frame out of its correct position squarely across t. e table. Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings and the following description setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying my invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms which the principle of my invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is an elevation from the right end of Fig. 1; Fig. 2A is an enlarged detail on the line 2A Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arow; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross section on the line 93, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail. from Fig. i; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view on the line 5-4, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a detail in transverse section of the roll driving means; Fig. '7 is a side elevation of Fig. 6 taken from the left and with parts broken away; Figs. 8 and 9 are side elevations in somewhat diagrammatic style showing certain attachments; Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic plan view showing other attachments; Fig. 11 is a rear elevation of the attachments of Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a side view partly in section, and Fig. 13 a plan view of means for attaching a cloth spreading bar.

My improved machine is built on the same general lines as my earlier machine and consists of a carriage having side frames i and 2 with cross connecting members 3 and carrying a cloth supporting frame 2- mounted on a turntable comprising an upper plate 5 and a lower plate 5A. Each of the side frames is supported by two rubber tired tread wheels 6, and i, l on stub shaft 8, 8 and 9, 9 respectively, on which the machine moves along a cloth laying table if, which, except for certain attachments, is of the usual type. The stub shafts d also carry flanged metal r guide wheels it which run along a guide rail H secured to one side of the table. All the foregoing is similar to'the corresponding features of my Patent No. 1,841,703.

A frame it depends from the side frame i and carries a motor it below the level of the table. This motor drives the machine by suitable gearing 58 and a sprocket chain 89, the chain iii passing over a sprocket 28 outside the flanged wheel l i) on one of the stub shafts 9. Another sprocket chain it, from a sprocket 22 between the said guide wheel i f; and its corresponding tread wheel 2', drives a cross shaft 23 which in turn drives one of the tread wheels 3 by a corresponding chain and sprocket on the farther frame 2, and concealed in Fig. 2 behind the elements 28 and BI. This shaft 23 is mounted in bearings on each side frame, high enough up to be above any pile of cloth to be laid. A clutch can be disengaged to allow hand movement of the machine. This clutch is preferably of a cushion type so as to start the machine easily and smoothly, thus avoiding sudden starts which would tend to disarrange the cloth.

Power is conveniently supplied to the motor by flexible conductors of conventional type plugged to the contacts 36 which project from a switch 3! conveniently mounted on the top of a handle 32, which handle also has other purposes as will be later described. A flexible conductor leads from this switch 3! to the motor ll, being concealed in Fig. 2 by the frame members. A reversing switch diagrammatically indicated at 33 makes contact at either end of the travel of the machine with a reversing cam 3 or SdA below the side of the table l5, thus automatically stopping the machine and starting it backward at the end of a length of travel predetermined by the position of the cams st, 3 5A, which may be variously placed, as indicated in somewhat diagrammatic style by holes shown in the rail H. These cams 3d and 3 3A may be set at any desired position along the table. A safety stop in the form of a spring buffer 35 above the table also acts to prevent the machine from running ofi if the electric switch fails to function. It will be understood that the member 35 is repeated "at each end of the table but is shown at only one end of Fig. 2 as a matter of convenience.

As seen in Figs. 2 and 4: the side frame mern ers i and 2 have mounted thereon bearings "39 and ii in which cross shafts 62 and 3 are carried. The cross shaft d2 is enlarged between the bearings into a knurled roll 4:3 and the cross shaft 33 carries at each end a short upstanding arm 45 in which a second cross shaft 36, enlarged between the arms into a roller il covered with cloth, rubber, or other friction surface, is journalled. For most classes of cloth the best results are obtained by having the surface covering of the roller 47 made of fairly soft rubber. In the preferred embodimentherein illustrated the roller All is rotated only by its contact, through the cloth, with the roller id. These arms are urged in a clockwise direction, Fig. 2, by a coil spring 58 to grip the cloth C between the rolls 4'! and id. The spring 33 is omitted from Fig. 2 for the sake of clearness. On the motor side of the machine a handle 53 is keyed to the shaft d3. This handle has a ratchet and ratchet release 5| coacting with a toothed segment 52, whereby the arms at can be set at open positions to permit easy threading of the fabric C between the rolls. The rolls M and ii feed the cloth down from any suitable carrying means, several of which are described hereinafter. The knurled roll 34 is positively driven from one of the tread wheels I by a chain 55 which passes over a sprocket 56 on the tread wheel, over a sprocket 5'5 rotatable on the shaft 12 of the roller 434, over another sprocket 58 adjacent the sprocket 57 and is tensioned by an idler 59 conveniently located on the frame I. The relative diameters of the various sprockets and rolls is, in the present instance, such as to cause the surface of the knurled roll A l to have a linear speed equal to the speed of movement of the carriage along the table.

The following arrangement serves to drive the knurled roll as always in the same direction, counter-clockwise from the point of view of Fig. 2, and clockwise from the point of view of Fig. 3. A gear moves rigidly with the sprocket 5B and a gear 62, meshing therewith, is rotatable either with, or with reference to the sprocket 5?, ac-

cording to the directionof rotation This is accomplished by means of a ball clutch shown in detail in Figs. 6 and 7 and having a toothed body portion 63 keyed to the shaft 42 of the roller 44. This body portion extends through the gear 62 and into a sleeve 64 integral with the sprocket 51. The clutch balls 65 are shown as three sets of four each, spring-impelled in the usual form, the outer two working in the gear 52 and the inner two in the sleeve 64.

Thus, when the machine is moving to the left, Fig. 2, (it being remembered that Fig. '7 is taken from the same viewpoint as Fig. 2) the sprocket 5'! will run counter-clockwise, which is the direction in which the shaft 42 and roll 44 must always turn in order to feed the cloth downward. In this direction, the inner set of balls crowd into the diminishing space, and lock the sleeve 84 to the clutch body 63 and so drive the shaft 42 correctly. At the same time, the sprocket 53 and its gear 65 are also running counter-clockwise. Inasmuch as the gears GI and 62 are constantly in mesh, the gear 62 will accordingly run clockwise and the outer balls of the set 65 run to the open end of their travel, permitting such idle running of the gear 62.

When the machine is moving to the right, Fig. 2, the opposite action occurs, the sprocket 58 and gear 6i run clockwise, thus driving the gear 52 counter-clockwise and driving the shaft 42 by the outer balls while the sprocket 5'5 and its sleeve run idly.

A cross shaft 16 is mounted on the top of the machine frame, having a hand wheel ll outside the frame at one end and a sprocket such as $2 inside the frame at each end. A ratchet '53 engageable by a latch lever M is fast to the handle end of the shaft TF3 just outside the frame, so that when the handle is in one position the shaft can be rotated and when it is in another position the shaft ll) is locked.

A chain 15 passes over each of the sprockets l2 and around a corresponding lower sprocket "if; carried by a stub shaft 16A on the lower member of the machine side frame. Suitable means will be used for taking slack out of the chain F5, for

example, an eccentric mounting for the stub shaft 76A, but such means are well known and hence are not illustrated. Each of the frames 4 and 2 includes a central vertical brace 'i'i' which includes vertical guides on its inner surface as shown in Fig. 3. Blocks 80 are slidable up and down in these guides by a connection such as 3! to the chains 15, each on its respective side. Thus the operator, by turning the hand wheel I! can raise and lower both blocks 86 simultaneously, and by means of the latch 14 can lock them in any position.

The blocks 39 carry longitudinal members 82 through each of which a tube 83 extends to both the front and rear of the machine. These tubes 83, which correspond to the arms 32 of my earlier patent, carry various spreading rods, such as rod 38 or 98 and ill, all described hereafter. Tubes 84 are telescoped within the tubes 83 and are guided therein by a bottom groove 239 and a pin 20!. The outer tubes 83 are slit as shown at 282 and may be clamped tightly to maintain the inner tubes 84 at any given position by means of a suitable clamp, a convenient form of which is indicated at 203. It will be understood that in Fig. 2 and at the right hand end of F; 3, the tubes 84 are completely housed within the outer tubes 83. Sockets I50 or I51, described in detail hereafter, are carried on the ends of the tubes Sd. Obviously, the spreader rods are movable up and down simultaneously by the hand wheel ii and the mechanism just described. The particular spreader just mentioned is adapted for laying folded cloth, and comprises a bar es, bent at its outer end as at 3i, and a straight bar ill. slightly below and having its free end extending out even with the end of the bar 9i. The bar Sill runs between the folds of the cloth, with the curve 5)! bearing inside against the fold, and the bar 32 oes below the lower fold section thus spreading the cloth as it is laid on the table, as is well understood by those skilled in the art.

The rods 9i! and are carried by a holder which comprises a vertical section of bar stock Elli depending from a D clamp 25 i. The ends of the rods Sit and 92 pass through horizontal holes in this section iii and may be secured therein suitably, as by set screws 2H2. A threaded rod Qt? passes down through the D clamp into a vertical threaded aperture 2 is in the piece 2E6. At the upper end the rod carries a fixed collar 25 i and a hand wheel or other suitable turning means Bit, by means of which the D clamp 2i! may be tightened upon the side bar 83, all as shown in 12. The size of the D clamp is such as to pass over the sockets iilt when the tightening rod 2E3 is removed.

In the previous patent the cloth holding means was shown as a frame extending the full width of the machine and mounted in the middle on a turntable. The cloth holding frame herein is similar and is likewise mounted on a turntable as already mentioned. This turntable E is, how-- ever, slidably mounted by its lower plate 5A .on the cross member 3 and may be adjusted endwise in either direction by a semi-cylindrical sleeve 9:; which has a spiral cam slot as therein. A transverse shaft at, to which the handle previously mentioned, is attached, runs the full Width of the machine and extends out on the side away from the motor as well as on the side to wards the motor, the side away from the motor carrying a handle ill. A short arm as extends perpendicular to the middle of the shaft and carries a roller at its extremity which engages with the cam slot 9%. Thus an operator on either side of the machine can adjust the cloth carrying frame several inches in either direction. The mid-position of the frame is lightly held by convenient means, such as a weal: detent, not shown. To look the turntable against rotation I employ a movable plunger illil having at its top a roller ilil which engages in a longitudinal notch in a cross member it? of the upper or cloth carrying frame, the purpose of the roller to allow the longitudinal adjustment just described while maintaining the locl: against swinging.

lhe plunger urged upward by a flat spring i secured to one of the lower cross elements 3. It will be seen from Fig. 8 that the stud liifi is slightly to one side of the shaft 96. In order to release the turntable 1001:, a cone W5 is axially slidable upon the shaft lit, this cone being of such a size that when in the position of Fig. 5 it allows the spring to take its uppermost position, thus forcing the stud ltd into locking engagement, but when the cone is moved to the left, Fig. 5, its enlarged portion presses the spring let down, allowing the stud and roller to drop down so that the turntable can be turned. The cone Hill is moved by a finger catch iiiii on a sleeve on on the shaft 96, the cone being flat to the inner end of the sleeve. A spiral spring 108 normally urges the cone to the turntable locking position, Fig. 5.

The cloth carrying frame in more detail, comprises the transverse bars and uprights Hi9 at each end. These uprights its support opentopped trunnions Elli in which a bar iii, carrying a bolt of cloth, can be laid. The cross members i also support at their ends smaller uprights H2 also open at the top and adapted to receive the ends of a tensioning member. This tensioning member, in detail, comprises a short bar i it at each end, which has a reduced end wlL'ch can be laid in the socket at the top of the upright ill? and clamped in any angular position therein by means of w ng nuts such as Ht. These bars 6 carry transverse end arms i ll, to which a pair of parallel transverse bars 6 538 are fastened. By setting these bars i is at various angular positions, as in Figs. 2 and 9, the tension on the cloth passing to the feed roll can be governed.

The question of accurate side guides for cloth from a layin machine is of importance. It is provided for in the present machine by means of side adjustable elements such as the hubs E29 which sli Y "o the end of a belt of cloth in the usual manner. These hubs are of a gripping type such that they can be moved inward by simply but are automatically locked against outward displacement and can only be moved outward by pulling on the rims i2 l. Large discs such as 522 are movable on the tension bars 2 l8 and can be fastened in suitable position, as by se screws. The 23 also carries guide members 523 which have the appearance of large flat hooks overlap the cloth feeding rolls a l and @l, as best seen in The various cross bar iii, H8 and d3 are graduated, the graduations conveniently being equal and related, so that uniform setting of all the side gu de elements can be obtained with out making measurements. For the convenience the operator in setting the roll-holding hubs and the guides and 23 at the correct width for the cloth being laid, the graduations shown in Fig. 1 on the bars ii i, H8 and 43 are not directly aligned, but are oil's-ct so that direct settings corresponding to the cloth width are made by bringing the outer edge of each rim i2! andthe outer edge of each collar of the shields E22 and lid to the appropriately marked graduation. For example, if the roll of cloth 0 is (1 inches wide, each hub i213 will e set with its rim 528 on the graduation marked a, and similarly the guides and will each be set with the outer end or" their respective collars E22 and 523' on their own graduations The graduations marked a are not actually a inches apart, but are a distance from the center of the respective guide bar equal to plus the length of the collar element. Thus, for example, if the cloth is 42 inches wide the graduations a will actually hear the number 42. In this same example if the collar E22 is one inch long, the marks a on the upper bar lid will be spaced an actual distance of 22 inches from the center of the ne advantage of such arrangement of the graduations is that the operator in setting the machine does not have to make any allowances for the length of the hubs Etll or collars I22 and nor does he have the inconvenience of being obliged to look over the guides E22 or $23 to bring their inner edges into registry with the proper mark. If the cloth is 0. inches wide he sets to the marks a, if it is 1) inches wide he sets to the marks 27, and so on. The guides R3 are also adapted to be held in position by set screws. In this instance the set screws are keyed into a shallow groove I 24 on the cross shaft, to prevent the guides l23 from turning.

For special purposes, a variety of attachments may be used with my machine, some of the more important ones being illustrated in Figs.,8 and 9. In Fig. 8, vertical arms its are shown as attached below the open top bearings i it; and carry a sand roller or similar rough surface roller ml at the top. This attachment is for use when a bolt of cloth such as 32, wound on a board, is to be laid. The cloth passes down from the sand roll I3! to the feed roll i l and from there the laying proceeds in the usual manner. The object of the extension and of the roll list is to enable the slack or unevenness due to unwinding from a board to be taken up before the cloth reaches the roll l3i, such slack being indicated at i331, so that the stretch oi the cloth from 35 to 3 5 is fairly uniform.

Fig. 9 illustrates an attachment for laying cloth which is in flat piles, particularly linings. For this purpose a trailer ldii is coupled on as at M! to be pulled or pushed by the machine and this trailer carries the pile of cloth as. The cloth is laid up over a bar M2 carried above the trailer by standards 43 and the cloth is guided between a pair or" large discs M4 which may be adjusted axially of the bar Hi2 according to the width of the material. The cloth or lining is then led to the bar iii, which for this purpose is provided with guide discs E le, then passed down between the tensioning bars l 58 and so to the feed roll In connection with the devices of Figs. 8 and 9, any suitable type of spreader bars will be used according to circumstances.

In the operation of this machine, the cloth is supplied to the feed roll 44 from a round or flat bolt or from a pile, as already described, and is laid by the feed roll on the table at the exact rate of travel of the machine, so that there is no pull or tension in the cloth. Great accuracy in side adjustment, and consequent perfect straightness of lay ore obtainable by the side guides on the various cross bars, and by the transverse adjustment of the turntable which may be made by the operator using the handle 9?.

One of the possibilities of this machine is to pile only a predetermined amount of cloth from a roll or other source or supply. This is accomplished by setting the reversing cams 3 3 and 34 A the predetermined distances apart, whereby the yardage laid can be determined by counting the layers and multiplying by the distance.

To smooth out all wrinkles and give the cloth a perfect lie, spreader bars of a suitable nature are used. For the laying of folded cloth without unfolding it, an operation beyond the capacity or" previous machines, two spreader bars are used, as previously mentioned and as shown in Fig. 1 i, the upper one between, and the lower below, the folded layers. Also with two spreader bars, one above the other, it possible, in suitable work, to spread on a return trip cloth that was laid on the previous trip, and various combinations can be worked. For cloth not folded a transverse bar 35, which corresponds to the transverse bar 35 shown in Fig. l of my Patent No. 1,841,703, is used.

In the present instance themanner of mount ing the transverse spreader bar 36 has been improved in construction so as to cooperate with the present improved reversing machine. As

shown in Fig. l of Patent No. 1,841,703, this bar 36 is straight at the ends, but bent near each end and forms an angle at the middle, when seen in plan View. It is supported transversely to the machine with the angle plane inclined somewhat above the horizontal and in the appropriate direction to spread the cloth. In the present machine improved means of support are used, as described below.

One end of the bar 35 is supported by engagement with a socket 159 permanently attached to the end of the inner extensible tube 34. Such sockets are seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and one is shown on a larger scale in Figs. 12 and 13. The socket E56 is channeled transversely to the machine as at [5! and is notched as at l52. It will be noted, particularly in Fig. 12, that the channel kit is of inverted keyhole section, having its bottom of enlarged cylindrical cross section as at 553. The end E54 of the bar 36 is flattened as shown in Fig. 12 and has its major diameter such as to turn easily in the cylindrical portion I53 and its minor diameter small enough to pass through the upper part of the slot l5! when in a vertical position, Fig. 12. This end piece I54 also carries a pin 555 which rests in the bottom of either of the slots I52 when the bar is at its inclined working position.

It will be seen from the foregoing, that after the bar 36 has had its end positioned in the socket the, it can be turned 120 therein. A handle I56 may be attached to a prolongation of the bar for convenience in turning the bar 33 from one to the other of the forward or rearward working positions. In Fig. 2, which shows the machine travelling in the direction of the arrow, the course or" the cloth is indicated by a dash line and the reference character 0, and it will there be noted how the cloth is spread by the bar 36.

The improved combined adjusting handle,

turntable lock and motor switch, all shown in Fig. 5, enables an operator walking alongside the machine to stop, start, adjust, unlock the turntable, all with one hand, leaving the other free to act and turn the bolt of cloth, while the handwheel "ii is also easily accessible to raise the spreader bars as the pile builds up. The reversing cams 3i and 36A, in conjunction with the constant one-way feed, Fig. '7, permit the machine to operate automatically when the cloth is to be laid face to face and back to back.

Various combinations of attachments and modes of operations, besides those described in detail herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a self-propelling wheeled carriage adapted to travel on a table, means for revolubly supporting a roll of cloth on said carriage, means for positively feeding such cloth to the table as the carriage travels thereover, and means driven by a wheel of said carriage for driving said positive feeding means always in the same direction.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a wheeled carriage adapted to travel on a table, driving means carried by said carriage and connected to certain wheels only on each side of the same, rotatable means for revolubly supporting a roll of cloth on said carriage, rolls for positively feeding such cloth to the table at a rate directly proportional to the rate of travel of carriage, and means connected to a nondriven wheel of said carriage for driving said rolls always in the same direction.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a carriage adapted to travel on a table, rotatable means associated with said car riage for revclubly supporting a roll of cloth, means for adjusting said means transversely of the carriage, roll means driven by the supporting wheels of said carriage for positively feeding such cloth to the table at a rate equal to the rate of travel of said carriage, and means for driving said roll means always in the same direction.

4. In a cloth laying apparatus, in combination, a table, a carriage, supporting wheels at each side of the carriage, said wheels having tires of friction material adapted to rest on the surface of said table, a rail offset from the side of said table, and supplemental wheels having guide flanges adapted to travel said rail.

5. In a cloth laying apparatus, in combination, a table, a carriage, supporting wheels at each side of the carriage, said wheels having tires of frictional material adapted to rest on the surface of said table, and means along one edge of said table and off the table surface for guiding said carriage.

6. In a cloth laying machine of the class described, a carriage, supporting wheels at each side of the carriage, said wheels having rubber tires adapted to rest on the surface of the cloth laying table, a rail along the side of the table and beyond the table surface, guiding wheels adapted to engage said rail, a motor dependently supported below the table from one side of said carriage, and automatic means for reversing said motor at predetermined points. 7

7. In a cloth laying machine of the class de scribed, a carriage, supporting wheels at each side of the carriage, said wheels having rubber tires adapted to rest on the surface of the cloth laying table, a laterally offset rail along the side of the table, guiding wheels adapted to engage said rail, a motor dependently supported below the table from one side of said carriage, safety stop means on said table in the path of said carriage, and an automatic trip adapted to reverse the travel of said motor at the end of its course.

8. In a cloth laying machine of the character described, a self-propelling wheeled carriage of fixed width adapted to travel along a table, cloth supplying means and cloth guiding means on said carriage, rolls on said carriage for feeding cloth downward to said table from said supplying and guiding means, driving connections from the carriage wheels to said rolls, elements in said connections for driving said rolls always in the same direction, and means for moving the cloth on said supplying and guiding means transversely of the table during operation of the machine, said means including an operating handle on either side of the machine.

9. In a cloth laying machine of the character described, a carriage including side frames and transverse connecting bars, a turntable, cloth supporting means thereon, means for sliding said turntable on said connecting bars, driving means for said carriage, and a combined control element beyond one of said side frames for controlling said driving means and said sliding means.

10. In a cloth laying machine of the character described, a carriage including side frames and transverse connecting bars, a turntable, cloth supporting means thereon, means for sliding said turntable on said connecting bars, driving means for said carriage, a plurality of ccmbined control elements at one side. all engageable by one hand, said elements comprising a handle for moving said cloth supporting means transverseiy, means for locking and unlocking said turn table, a motor cut-off switch, all said being engageable by one hand without removhe hand from said handle. In a machine of the class described, a car having side frames, fixed transverse ele 5 connecting said frames, wheels mounted stub shafts on each of said a motor of frames, a transverse cloth to be laid, driving connections from said motor to one said wheels on the motor other direct driving connections, including said shaft, from said one wheel to one of the wheels on the far side.

12. In a machine of the class described, a motor-driven carriage, cloth guiding means and driven cloth feeding means thereon, carrying means for folded cloth comprising a trailer adapted to be coupled to said carriage.

13. In a machine of the class described, a move an carriage, cloth supply means movable therewi enacting rollers thereon for feeding cloth to a pile at the rate of travel of the carriage, means for driving said rollers by the movement of the carriage, and means for guiding cloth from said supply means to said rollers including bars parallel to said rollers, said bars being adjustable to vary the length and angularity of the path of said cloth.

1%. In a machine of the class described having a movable carriage with cloth feeding rolls transverse thereto, side guide means associated with said feeding rolls, cloth tensioning means between the cloth supply and said feed rolls, side guides on said tensioning means, means for supplying cloth to said tensioning means, said lastnamed means also including side guides, related graduations adjacent each of said guiding means whereby all said guiding means may be uniformly set.

15. In a machine of the character described, a friction surfaced cloth feeding roll, and means for driving said roll from a tread wheel of the machine always in the same direction, said driving means comprising an over-running clutch on said roll, a sprocket on the shaft of said roll connectable by said clutch to drive said roll in one direction only, a gear wheel on said shaft connectable by said clutch to drive said roll in the same direction, and a unitary sprocket and gear on a stub shaft adjacent said roll shaft, both said gears being in constant mesh, and a chain directly driven by said tread wheel and passing over both sprockets in the same direction, whereby when said machine runs one way the roll takes its motion from the first-named sprocket, and when the machine runs in the opposite direction the roll takes its motion from the firstnamed gear.

16. In a machine of the character described having two side frames, a pair of arms, one in conjunction with each side frame, said arms being adjustably extendable beyond said machine in either direction in line of travel thereof, means at either end of each of said arms for mounting spreader attachments thereon.

17. In a machine of the character described, aspreader for longitudinally folded cloth, said spreader comprising a bar supported at one side of the machine and free over the table at the other end, said bar being curved at its free end, said curved portion being adapted for substantially tangential engagement with the fold of the cloth and a parallel straight bar therebelow, both said bars being transversely disposed to the cloth.

18. In a machine of the character described having two side frames, a pair of arms, one in conjunction with each side frame, said arms being adjustably extendable beyond said machine in either direction in line of the travel thereof, means for adjusting the height of said bars simultaneously, said means comprising blocks carrying said arms vertically slidable in the respective side frames, a cross shaft supported by the side frames above the greatest height of cloth to be piled, a hand-wheel and a locking ratchet on said shaft outside one of said side frames, a sprocket Wheel on each end of said cross shaft and a chain at each side passing over said sprocket, each of said chains being secured to its respective block.

19. In a machine of the character described, a carriage having side frames and a cross frame therebetween, a turntable on said cross frame, a cam and a shaft for moving said cam to move the turntable along the cross frame, a roll carrying rack supported by said turntable, means for locking said rack in position parallel to said cross frame, said locking means comprising a notched element near the end of the rack, a dog supported beneath said cross frame, a leaf spring secured at one end to the machine frame and its other end pressing said dog constantly upward, a conical sleeve longitudinally movable on the turntable-adjusting shaft and engageable with said leaf spring whereby axial movement of said sleeve will move said spring and said dog downward.

20. In a machine of the character described, a self-propelled carriage, driven wheels and free wheels supporting the same, means movable with said carriage for carrying cloth to be piled, a roller on said carriage for feeding said cloth downward onto a pile, driving means from a free carriage wheel to said roller for moving said roller at the peripheral speed of said wheel, and a transverse spreader rod carried by said carriage over which said cloth is adapted to pass immediately before going onto the pile.

21. In a machine of the character described, a self-propelled carriage, driven wheels and free wheels supporting the same, means movable with said carriage for carrying longitudinally folded cloth to be piled, rollers on said carriage for feeding said cloth downward onto a pile, driving means from a free carriage wheel to said rollers for moving said rollers at the peripheral speed of said wheel, and a transverse spreader carried by said carriage, said spreader comprising two vertically spaced rods, one adapted to go under the folded cloth, and the other to go between the parts of the cloth, immediately before the cloth goes onto the pile.

SAMUEL M. BLOCH. 

